


Dark Horse

by Spoiler1001, Superellysan



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: Beauty and the Beast Elements, Gen, Slight Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 15:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8849524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spoiler1001/pseuds/Spoiler1001, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superellysan/pseuds/Superellysan
Summary: Zero's origin story redone.(Elly again, just gonna redo the entire thing at this point because I realized that my "help with flow" thing included adding basically three chapters worth of scenes in because they weren't done near enough justice before. So yeah, expect the entire story to be revamped massively and read a whole lot better. Also if you haven't read it yet, save it for when I'm done with the revamps because then you won't be spoiled and also some stuff will get changed between versions. I'll either post the entire revamped story at once or, more likely, release it chapter by chapter with a note at the top saying that the chapter is now completely revamped or something along those lines.)(A huge shout out to everyone who kudos'd and read this fic before this point. Love you all for reading this rough little thing and liking it, and I hope to do it and y'all more justice with my rewriting!)





	1. La Belle et la Bête

**Author's Note:**

> Also by http://shiningshinko.tumblr.com/ as well.

 

A girl found herself running into a cave to shelter herself after she had been separated from her parents in a freak accident. This cave, however, held inside of it a monster that the villagers had never warned her of.

She jumped as a loud stomping noise echoed around the cave with a metallic clang. She looked forward to see a red monster standing in front of her and fell backward in shock. She stared up at him, his menacing pupil slit, crimson eyes. The red beast breathed heavily, a cold chill coming from his flaring nostrils. She shrank as his breath blew across her soft features, her brown hair shifting slightly from it. She slowly backed away, hoping she could make it to the cave’s exit.

This was not a situation to be taken lightly. She was cornered and quickly running out of options. The beast was still standing eerily in a near quadrupled position that made him twice her size. The maverick inched closer to her and was eventually smelling her in horse powered huffs of breaths.

She squeaked. She had tried to stay calm, but the noise just slipped out. The beast in front of her cocked his head at the noise.

The girl froze, he was too close to her for her to run, and probably much faster than her anyway. She let out a few breaths, on the edge of tears. He sensed her in distress and it set him on alert.

She mentally cursed herself for having made it worse.

Tentatively, and with no other option available to her, she began to speak.

"He-hello" The beast looked at her in bewilderment, for all the others had tried to run. He became even more bewildered as she continued.  
"M-my name is Lily."

The beast drew closer and she tried to back up, hitting a wall.

"Li..... Li....ly" the beast brokenly said.

Lily's breath caught, but she didn't let her guard down. Did he do this to all his victims? She stiffened as the beast loomed over her, his blood red eyes boring into hers.

"Li...ly"

She nodded, hoping that he would understand

“A-and you a-are?" She asked, twitching as the beast got closer still, practically in her lap by this point  
The beast paused, deep in thought.

"None."

"None? Is that y-your name?" She started when the beast began to settle himself down on top of her legs, but held as still as possible after so as not to set him off. "N-none?"

The beast looked away, giving no answer. When he looked back, the girl felt like she saw a deep sorrow in the beast’s eyes, for just an instance, before the beast pushed his head up under her arms and onto her chest, his arms wrapping around her torso.

"I'm dead" thought the girl. "Imdeadimdeadimdeadimsoooodead.”

But a killing blow never came.

She felt his head come to rest against her. It never moved, just relaxed.

The beast was... warm. A strange thing to note, especially right now, but he was. Now that he was relaxed, (and looking past the blood caked to him) the girl could see that his form was that of a young man. The beast was heavy, but not uncomfortably so. He strongly began to remind her of her cat back home. Without thinking, she began to run her fingers through his blonde hair as if petting him. Instead of attacking, the beast began to purr and pushed his head up closer to her hands, harsh exterior melting under her touch. His loud obscure heartbeat could be felt underneath the armor, and his breathing was relaxed. She was happy to make him calm.

She began to relax, herself.

 

* * *

To the beast, she was an oddity. She was something new, something curious. And, most importantly, something non-threatening. She was safe. And she was warm, in a way he had never known warmth to be. A lot of the others attacked him, hurt him, and he struck back. He was just defending himself. But she didn’t.

He settled into her, noting with child-like curiosity the thumping that came from her chest, the air that escaped her mouth as she sighed in relief.  He felt safe with her. Safe enough to fall asleep. So he slept against her, only waking when he felt her shift, sliding away from under him.

She was heading toward the exit. The beast ran in front of her, blocking her from leaving. He gave her a hurt look and she could hear a low growl coming from his throat. Lily started, but soon composed herself and addressed the beast.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay. My family is probably looking for me and I don't want to worry them."  
The beast crouched, growl growing louder.

She walked up to him and pet him on the head, saying "I won't be gone forever. I promise I'll come back. Just wait for me here, okay?"

When the beast still didn't move, the girl then added, "If I'm gone for too long, then they'll come looking for me. If they find me here with you...." She bit her lip and began to tear up ".....I have to go."

The beast, startled by the girl's tears and in fear of what would cause them, hesitantly relented. When the girl reached the lip of the exit, she turned back and said to the beast with a soft smile "Good boy", before walking out into the morning day.

* * *

He waited for her, hoping she'd come back, not even attacking anyone who came close to his cave, as he was known to do. A week passed, and then a month, and still the girl did not return. In all that time, he never attacked anyone unless they came to harm him. The seasons changed, and still he waited.

A year passed before the girl returned. When she did, her eyes were dulled, her hair faded, her smile smaller. She looked tired.

He ran to her, excited to see her again, but stopped short when he saw that she was limping. Lily noticed the worry on his face, and she let out a light chuckle, more air than anything, and hugged him close. The beast stiffened slightly at the embrace.

"I'm alright, don't worry" she said.  
The beast was still stiff in her arms, so she released the embrace and began to gently run her fingers through his hair. At that, the beast began to relax, and nuzzled his head into her palm.  
"Heh. I missed you too." Tears started to fall from her weary eyes. The tears hit him and he tried purring to make her feel better. Hearing his purrs only brought more tears flowing from her eyes. The beast began to panic, thinking he has in some way hurt her, and tried to back away.

The attempt made the girl's smile fade into a distraught frown.

"No, please stay! I'm... I'm alright, really!" The beast hesitated. "Please, just.... Just stay with me... please..."

The beast looked to her, and only then truly noticed how small she was now as she began to curl in on herself and cry. He returned to her, curling himself around her small frame as if to protect her.

She sniffed, mumbling a soft "tha..thank...you", and embraced him tightly. The beast could feel her shaking in his arms. He closed his eyes and held her.

After a while, the girl began to get quiet. The beast opened his eyes and saw that her eyes were closed, her breaths weak. Her body was warmer than when they had first met. He began to panic, making distressed noises and calling her name. She fluttered her eyes open, and gave the beast a weary smile.

"I-it's alright. I j-just have a b-bit of-f a fe-fever. It's-s no...thing..." Lily sighed on the last word, and fell into an uneasy rest. The beast was filled with dread. He didn't know what to do. She was acting...

.....acting the same way some of the corpses around him had when he killed them.

The beast panicked at that thought, and as he worried over her he fleetingly wondered how she had been hurt. The girl knew, but she didn't have the heart to tell him. She didn’t tell him of how the village had been making plans to attack his cave, nor of how when she spoke out on his behalf she was beaten by the villagers for siding with him. Her family had tried to protect her, but they couldn’t, and she had been driven out of the village soon after. She’d had no food or clean water for the past few days, but still she journeyed to him in the dead of winter, to make good on her promise to return and to find protection with him.

The beast didn't know this any of this. He knew nothing of what had happened to her. All he knew was that the girl was dying in his arms, and that some part of him thought it his own fault. He knew nothing of diseases or malnourishment. He only knew of the signs of death. He despaired, knowing that there was nothing he could do to help her. He didn't even know how to.

 Suddenly, he was struck by a thought Her own kind.... Maybe they could save her. But to go to them for help would mean exposing himself. They could attack him. They could hurt him or even…

His fear of pain battled with his fear of losing her.

And in the end, his fear of losing her won out. The beast gently picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the cave to look for help.

He made it to a different village than the one she was from. That was her blessing, for unbeknownst to him, he had an ally there. A woman with silver hair and unnatural green eyes found him before any others had, and led him to her home, where she had a medical table hidden away. She knew exactly what was wrong with Lily, and she gave her hot broth.

"Keep her inside until she is better, but keep her fed, alright?" the woman said to the beast. "If you want her to live."

After exchanging more words with the woman, the beast had brought Lily back to his cave, carrying with him blankets for her. She looked a lot healthier after being treated by the woman. He set her down on the floor of the cave and swaddled her with blankets. After he had made her comfortable, he retreated, her shivering and whimpers in her sleep keeping him away in fear of hurting her more. Instead, he opted to sit nearby, as close as he dared to get to her, and think.

He thought back to the woman in the village, and to the words she had told him.

"I had heard from a passing merchant that a girl had been driven from her village, bloody and beaten, for siding with a monster."

His anger had begun to boil at that, at the thought of her being hurt by them, before the realization that it had been because of him sunk in and turned him melancholy instead.

"And now, here you are, risking your life to get her help."

He had said nothing to that, simply looking to the girl worried.

"She will be fine. She simply needs rest, food, and warmth." The woman gathered something up in her arms from a nearby pantry. She then wrapped the items in a thick blanket, and offered them to him. He looked at her in confusion then, as the sudden doubt of why she would be helping him entered his mind.

"Oh, come now. I'm simply giving you what you'll need to take care of her. I mean you no harm."

Hesitantly, he had taken the bundle from her, and backed away towards the girl quickly after.

The woman sighed, and said "Look, I'm helping you because I know what it's like to be misunderstood. To be hurt. That, and without my help, that girl would be dead." She had walked up to the girl then, the beast uttering a low growl at her approach. She gently pet Lily's hair as the girl lay shivering on the table. Softly, she said "She seems like a nice girl." She had then turned to him, and asked, "You will protect her, won't you?"

He didn't move nor speak, but the woman must have saw something in his eyes, for she said "Good" and walked towards the door. Stopping under the door frame, she turned around and added, "You'll want to be careful heading back home. Not all of the villagers are as nice, or as _forgiving_ as I am."

Her eyes had flashed red when she said that. Once she had left, he wasted no time in gathering the girl and bundle up in his arms and departing.

Back in the present, he looked to Lily's shivering form, which had suddenly shifted. He approached, and saw her opening her eyes. Lily softly muttered "Oh... G-good mornin... N-none. Come... h-here..." He gently approached her, fearful of causing more damage. The girl slowly sat herself up, and patted her lap. "Here, None. C-come here.." None hesitated, but he slowly made his way over to her lap. She began running her fingers through his hair and rubbing the back of his neck, and he simply melted into her lap under her touch.  
"There.... Good...boy.."

He knew that he had many things to worry about. That mysterious woman, the deadly villagers, the girl's health. But all those worries seemed to melt away instantly in that moment, for in her embrace time seemed to stop still. Sharing in her warmth, he was safe. With her, he was happy.

The girl could hear him softly purr, and she giggled at how adorable the noise sounded. She shivered as a cold breeze blew through the cave, but continued to smile.

As her fever broke she pulled him closer, under the blanket.

He loved being so close to her, loved being enveloped in warmth, but being under this cloth bothered him. It was confining, his movements wouldn't be as sharp or as quick, if they were attacked...

The girl noticed the beast's agitation, and gently placed her hands on his head, one on each side, and locked eyes with him. "It's alright. It's going to be alright. Just stay here with me."

At that, the beast sank into her, curling his frame around her tiny body protectively. He was still on edge, but he would not let himself worry her. She began to pet his back, muttering "Good None. Good boy."

  
He nuzzled into her side under the blanket.

* * *

 

Lily began getting better day by day, but her limp still stayed. She would hum each day as the seasons passed and as they watched the snow fall, safe from the weather inside the cave. Every so often food would seemingly be transported to them in the middle of the night, just when they were running out. None wondered briefly about it, and one night he stayed up to see who brought the food.

Lily had gone to sleep early the night he stayed up. None sat next to her as he kept an eye on the entrance of the cave. It was some time before he caught sight of someone, and he watched as the woman from the other village rounded the lip of the cave, carrying boxes of food in bags. She set them down inside the entrance, and as she turned to leave she caught sight of him. Smirking, she turned to him and said “Well, well, it looks like I’ve been caught”, raising her hands by her head in a mock gesture of surrender. She took a step forward, and None instinctively flinched back. She scowled at him and said “Oh come, now. You should know by now that I mean you no harm.” The woman flicked a thumb over her shoulder towards the bags near the entrance of the cave. “Now that you know I’m bringing the food, you mind helping me to carry them in further? Don’t want the snow to make it all soggy.”

None stared at her hesitantly for a few moments, before slowly nodding and standing up to help. As the two moved the food further into the cave, they failed to notice the bundle of blankets on the ground that shifted and stirred. Just as None was setting down the last bag, a small, sleepy head popped out of the blankets, slightly startling the both of them. The girl under the blankets yawned and pushed herself off the floor while sleepily saying

“None? …. Is something the matter?”, before her eyes finally fell on the woman. Lily rubbed at her eyes, before gasping. “It’s you!”

The woman smiled and walked over to Lily. None stiffened as the woman placed her hand on Lily’s head and began to pet her hair. “Yes, dear. It is I, your fairy godmother.”

Lily giggled happily, and None relaxed slightly as she asked “What are you doing here?”

“Making a delivery” the woman replied, gesturing to the food.

Lily smiled. “I knew it had to be you bringing this to us.” The woman flinched as Lily wrapped her in a warm hug. “Thank you!”

The woman smiled down at Lily and returned her hug. “It’s my pleasure, dear.” Gently pushing Lily away, she continued “I must be going now. Take care, will you?”

Lily nodded and said “I will!”

The woman then turned to None, and approaching him said “You take care as well, beast. Keep her safe.” As the woman passed None, she placed a hand on his shoulder and None felt a shiver run down his spine as she whispered “or else” into his ear. The woman quickly let go, making the exchange seem nothing more than a pat on the shoulder, and waved her hand in parting as she rounded the lip of the cave and disappeared from sight.

Lily was thankful for her help and, deciding she couldn’t get back to sleep now, went to eat some of the food. In the boxes were fruits and vegetables that looked scrumptious to the girl, and less appetizing to None. He was more of a carnivorous creature. Lily offered him a grape in the midst of her meal. He sniffed at it and cringed.

After a few more trips, the woman realized that the beast may not need to feed, but very much liked too, and had been depriving himself of food in order to ensure that Lily was always well fed and protected. The woman decided, then, to bring raw meat for the beast to eat. Something that the girl couldn't digest so that the beast would actually accept it instead of immediately giving it to her.

They were scrounging through the bags a few days after the woman had delivered them when they found the piece of meat. None had tried to give it to Lily, but Lily had told him that she couldn’t eat it. So now he sat in the cave, holding the slab of meat in his hands. He hadn't had the taste of it for so long. He ripped a chunk out of the piece of meat with his teeth and ate it vigorously while Lily watched the barren landscape outside the cave, thinking about her family.

 

She wondered how her parents were faring, and if her little brother had finally finished that sleigh he had been building when she was....

She shook her head. It was best not to think about it. But think she did, of how they probably missed her. How they probably thought she was... dead.

At that thought, she collapsed to the ground and began to sob into her hands. None, who had been eating, was startled, and, dropping his meal, quickly ran to her side, fearing that she had somehow been wounded by something outside.

"Don't worry None...I'm alright" Lily said, as she placed a reassuring hand on his head. He was calmed by her words.

Suddenly out of the young girl's vision from far away she saw a very blurred of a group of armored looking figures heading in their direction.

 

"Oh no...." The girl breathed out. "No, no, no, no..."

None, confused and frightened by her tone, looked to where her eyes were staring. His eyes began to widen, and he hunched himself in front of her, taking a menacing stance, and, growling loudly, prepared himself to attack these hostile intruders.

It was soon evident that they were a group of creatures like him, hunters from a land far away. None prepared himself for the worst, and Lily was terrified of what might happen. The hunters came closer to his domain, and the two slowly backed away from the entrance to try and hide themselves. Lily hoped that they would simply walk past the cave’s entrance, and was dismayed when the hunters walked through it instead. They only stopped walking when they saw the two.

None could see that these hunters had blood splattered on them, and he wished that that woman was here as Lily cowered behind him.

He glared daggers into them, growling low in his throat. Lily clung to his neck, hoping to keep him from provoking the hunters into a fight. She had heard before she was driven away of a force being made to combat those they called Mavericks, but she had imagined them to be heroic saviors. The people that stood in front of them now, though. They seemed... off.

_Wrong._

 

She didn't like it.

 

The hunters grinned at the two, their teeth exposed as their lips peeled back.

None pulled Lily forward as one of the hunters tried to grab at her, and he lashed out at him as Lily scrambled out of the way. She tried to run, but her limp hindered her and she was soon overwhelmed by hunters, who crowded her and hissed into her face

None roughly threw the hunter he had been fighting to the ground and jumped in front of Lily, shielding her from the surrounding hunters. He stood menacingly, his eyes blood red, his fangs bared and dripping. He inhaled deeply, and roared. His roar thundered through the cave, and could be heard for miles. Once finished, he glared at the hunters in front of him, his breathes heavy and steaming in the cold air. The hunters backed away, rethinking their options.

Of course, they reasoned that they were too far in to retreat, not without leaving themselves open to attack from the beast in front of them. They instead approached to attack the two, but stopped as they heard another roar, feminine in nature, ring out behind them. They turned to see a woman with green eyes and long, silver hair standing in the entrance of the cave.

None was happy to see her, but was still surprised that she was here, facing these hunters down. Lily was also happy to see her again, and wondered if the woman was going to negotiate with the hunters and get them to leave her and None alone.

The woman hissed, and as she slowly walked toward the hunters her eyes changed from an emerald green to a blood red. The hunters could see that her entire body was tensed with hostility towards them.

The woman howled in fury as she leapt at one of them, her fingers aimed for the hunter’s eyes. The hunter swayed backwards from her, and she sailed past him. As she pulled herself off the ground, the hunter screamed out

“Garna, what do we-!”

“I’ll handle her” Garna replied, placing himself between his group and the woman. None moved to back the woman up, but she held a hand out to stop him.

“This fight… is mine!” she snarled, before hurling herself at Garna. Garna grunted as he caught her fists in his hands and struggled against her. “She’s a lot stronger than she looks” he thought to himself as her red eyes bore down into his own.

The woman pulled one of her hands out of his grip to try and tear into his throat, and Garna quickly used the opportunity to twist her other arm behind her back and hurl her to the side, towards an outcropping of stones. As she slammed into them, her head jerked backwards, and a loud snapping noise rang out through the cave.

She didn’t move after that.

"NO!" Lily screamed in grief and shock. None roared at the hunters in rage and had prepared to attack them until he spotted a large, intimidating figure enter the cave, two robotic wolfs following him on each side. The figure had a hilt of something at his hip.

“Sigma, sir!” one of the hunters shouted, as the others turned and saluted him.

“At ease, men” Sigma said, walking ever closer to the two. None snarled at him while Lily cried softly behind him.

Sigma soon stood before None, and said in a gruff voice "Easy, please, don't be afraid. I just want to talk."

None growled in response, the woman’s corpse still visible in the corner of his eye. Lily asked "Why are you here trying to attack us?!

Sigma chuckled in response and calmly said "I'm just here to see your red friend you see. Now be a good girl and don't get in my way."

"Like her?" Lily spat, unusually angry.

None looked at the woman, at her corpse. He feared that the hunters would do the same to Lily, if he didn’t submit to them. So, he grew quiet, and stood down. He didn’t have any other choice but to hope that, if they took him, Lily would be spared.

Lily shook her head, and ran towards the woman. She clutched at the woman’s body and cried as she saw the way her neck was bent. Sigma and the others looked at her, and Sigma walked toward her, saying "Aw damn. I'm so sorry kid." He knelt down on the floor next to her and said "I can help you and your friend if you’ll let me."

None gritted his teeth, and no one noticed as he slowly slinked toward Sigma and Lily. None knew, he _knew_ that there was no way Sigma was being sincere.

Lily glared up at Sigma, but said nothing. Sigma reached a hand out toward her shoulder, saying "Kid, please, let me help you."

Before he could touch her, however, None darted between them, slashing at Sigma’s eyes and shoving him away.

Sigma screamed as synthetic blood dripped from the torn skin over his eyes.

None stood between Sigma and Lily, his stance hostile and his hands poised to strike again as he growled out a single word.

“No.”

Sigma approached None, a sardonic and sadistic grin plastering his face. He loomed over None, and the blonde could see in his eyes that he wanted to fight. None knew that it was now or never for him to protect himself and Lily.

He lunged forward, going for Sigma's head. He wanted them gone. They killed an ally, they threatened his friend, and now None wanted them dead.

Before None could get close, though, Sigma’s hands lashed out, grabbing him by the throat. None choked and struggled in Sigma’s grip, his hands clawing at the other’s arms. He didn’t need air like a human did, but the excruciating pain of Sigma crushing down on his throat was enough to slowly weaken him, and soon None found it difficult to stay conscious.

Lily screamed “Why can't you just leave us alone!!!"

Sigma turned his gaze to her and bellowed "Listen kid, he is a maverick! He will kill anyone in sight, same as any other!”

"He never hurt us!" Lily cried desperately.

"Hmm..."

"You've done more damage that he ever did” she continued, angry tears spilling down her cheeks. “ _You have no right to be here!_ "

Sigma released his grip on None, who fell heavily to the ground, gasping for air. Sigma stared at the defiant girl in front of him, before saying to the hunters "Sedate this maverick immediately. We’re taking him back to study."

"No!" Lily screamed, shooting forward to stop them. Sigma shook his head and unsheathed the hilt on his hip. Pressing a button on the hilt’s side, a blade of energy rushed forth, and Sigma quickly swung it at the girl, bisecting her in a flash.

None froze in shock, and soon tears of his own began pouring down his face. He screamed as the robotic wolves pounced on him and bit him. His blood splattered to the ground. A hunter approached him, carrying a large syringe with a long needle. He screamed out in anger and grief as he thrashed under the robotic wolves. He wanted to be with his friends, he wanted mourn them. He didn't want to go.

He was pinned down, crying in agony, the wolves hanging on like crocodiles, their claws digging into him. Sigma walked over to him, and his fearful red eyes darted to him as Sigma roughly held his head down to the ground, exposing his neck.

His red eyes faded to a baby blue, his pupils turning more human like in his sorrow and fear. He could see the needle approach his neck from the corner of his eye, and his breathing quickened as it inched closer and closer.

“No… None…” he heard Lily weakly say as her life drained out of her. He could see her eyes glaze over.

“LILY!!!!” he screamed out, grief clouding his voice.

The needle slowly slid into his jugular and None let out a pitiful yelp as he tried to struggle against it. He could feel as some kind of thick and warm liquid was pumped inch by inch into his system. He felt very tired and could not fight it.

In his last moments of consciousness, he turned his head to look at the dead. That woman, who risked her life to save them, still laid against the outcropping of stones. Lily, who had shown him kindness, who had never truly healed from her village beating and shunning her, laid bleeding out onto the ground, her body split in two, her eyes glassy.  
“Li….ly….”

  
He wanted to at least say goodbye to them, but the drugs soon overpowered his senses, and he blacked out.


	2. Help

None moaned, his head throbbing and his body sore with pain. He slowly blinked his eyes open, wincing as a bright, blinding light shined down into them. He could faintly hear voices talking around him.

“He’s awake.”

None tried to pull a hand up to rub at his eyes, but couldn’t move it. A small fear took hold of him, waking him up faster as he tried to raise his arm and failed. A blue figure suddenly loomed over him, looking down at him with emerald green eyes that shone with kindness and comfort. His features were soft and yet he seemed wise beyond his years. He reminded None of that woman, and of….

_Lily._

None’s eyes widened as he remembered what had happened, and he tried once again to move only to realize that he was bound to a table by restraints, and that his helmet had been taken from him. He thrashed and screamed in pain and agony as the memory of their deaths replayed itself over and over in his mind.

"Dr. Cain, he's freaking out!" the blue man shouted over his shoulder.

None didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be back at his cave, with Lily. He wanted to be with Lily! He sobbed, wanting to go home.

The red maverick sounded like a wounded animal as he struggled against his restraints and cried. Dr. Cain looked at the sight with pity. He walked over to the maverick, his cane clicking on the floor in sync with hid footsteps. "Easy boy...you're alright" he said, placing a gentle hand on the maverick’s shoulder.

"Lily!" the maverick screamed, his voice cracking. He shook the doctor’s hand off in his thrashing.

 X felt bad for this maverick. He wanted him to feel safe, to not feel so trapped. He imagined that something terrible must have happened to him for him to be crying like this.

X walked up to Cain and whispered a question in his ear. "Can we take the restraints off?" Cain looked at him shocked. X followed up with "I think they're just making him more scared." Lifting his arm, he added "If he attacks, I can subdue him. Please."

Dr. Cain hesitantly relented, and they undid the shackles. The moment he was free, he bolted for the door. He almost made it out, but Sigma walked in, blocking his way.

None flinched back in fear and anger, his body bristling with hostility. He wanted to kill this murderer here and now, wanted to kill him for what he did, but getting back to his cave, back to Lily, took priority now.

None tried to dart past Sigma, but Sigma blocked his way, towering over him. He glared down at None, his eyes scarred from where None had scratched him. The sadistic and triumphant smile that plastered Sigma’s face made None only want to kill him more.

None growled at him, his mouth curling into a snarl. That blue man placed a hand around his arm, trying to drag him back, but his grip was weak enough to easily pull out of. None pounced at Sigma, before feeling someone’s weight thrown at him. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, arms pinned behind his back, a buster held to his head. He struggled under the man’s weight, seeing him as no better than the murderer that stood before them. He hissed out “He…. killed… them….”, his voice croaking and thick with sorrow as tears of rage and grief began to fall from his eyes.

X hesitated. "Killed.. them?" He looked up at Sigma, buster still trained on the maverick’s head. "You said he was the only one there. Who did you kill?"

"I killed those who defended a maverick, which in and of itself is maverick behavior” Sigma easily replied, the reply itself sounding rehearsed. “That is my job."

X glared at Sigma. "Who. Did. You. Kill?" he ground out.

Sigma smirked down at the red maverick and said "Ask him. He seems to know her name."

At that, the maverick began to scream in rage and struggle fiercely. X had trouble restraining him, but his buster never left the maverick's head. Sigma merely stood above the scene, smiling triumphantly.

"Who was 'Lily'?" X asked above the screaming.

The maverick’s voice quieted to harsh, rasping sounds of frustration as he continued to try and free himself.

Sigma responded with "She was some girl from a nearby village. Thought herself this beast’s protector."

X's face grew red with anger. "You killed a.."

"A human. Yes. However," Sigma continued, "she was already dying." None froze at that, his fury rising. "This maverick had already dealt her a mortal blow. I did the merciful thing and ended her life quickly, instead of letting her die slowly and painfully."

"Lies....." None hissed, tears pouring from his eyes. He lifted his head as high as he could, which was about an inch off the floor, and making eye contact with Sigma, screamed "LIES!!! YOU KILLED HER!!!!!!!!"

X believed the maverick. He could see through Sigma’s lie, through his façade of benevolence. X felt pity well up inside of him for the maverick below him that squirmed and screamed in sorrow. The maverick…

"Tell us what happened, and we'll let you go home" X said, before he could stop himself.

None looked up at him, as best he could, with a look of pure disbelief on his face. Everyone else looked the same. Except Sigma.

"X, you are not in charge here. I am." He motioned for some hunters outside to come and grab the maverick. They roughly removed X and soon had None restrained between the two of them. None growled and hissed, but found his strength being drained by their touch. They dragged him out the door.

"Hey, wait!" X yelled, chasing after them. He was stopped, however, by Sigma putting a rough hand on his shoulder.

"I am the one who deals the fate of all mavericks, and you would do well to remember that."

"You killed his friends, and you’re covering it up. I can tell. If he really was so bad, you would have killed him, too."

Sigma chuckled. "He is that bad, X. But I have a use for him yet." Sigma shoved X backwards, and turning his back, he walked towards the door. "Oh, by the way," he said over his shoulder, "I'm going to need a few medical supplies. I hope you don't mind."

Cain stared at Sigma, suspecting the worst for the maverick, while X glared at him.

"Go ahead, take whatever you need." Cain replied wearily.

Sigma smirked, and waved to some reploids out in the hall as he walked out. They came running into the lab, and as they grabbed supplies X moved closer to Cain and whispered to him “I’m going to check out the cave they found him in”, before turning towards the door and dashing out.

* * *

 

None smelled smoke. It consumed his nostrils and burned his throat as he was forced to breathe it in.

 He looked up as he was dragged by what seemed to be a large furnace. One of the reploids dragging him said "You see that? That is where we dispose of maverick corpses. Someday, you'll be burning in there as well."

The other then added "I hope they throw you in alive after all the damage you've done."

None let out a pitiful whimper. He hoped they would too.

"Now, now" boomed a deep and imposing voice behind them. "We still have use for this maverick yet.” Sigma walked around the party so that he was standing in front of them. He grabbed None by his hair and yanked his head upward. "There's still so much about Maverickism that we don't understand. Maybe he will provide some clues. Possibly a cure?"

The two hunters laughed loudly next to None's ear. "As if it would be that easy" one of them commented.

Sigma smiled. "Well, he may at least give us a start." He looked at None, who was staring resolutely at the floor, his teeth clenched in rage. Sigma cupped None's chin in his other hand roughly and forced his head upwards, so that None had no choice but to look at him. He trembled with rage and fear in Sigma’s grip.

"Now," Sigma sneered, "shall we get started?"

* * *

X trudged through the snow, his foot falls heavy and apprehensive. He could already smell the decay and rot. He stopped as he got to the entrance of the cave, taking a moment to ready himself for what he may find. When he waked in, he cupped his hands over his mouth to stifle back a scream.

The cave’s walls and floor showed signs of many blood spills, but the only bodies in sight were that of a young girl and a woman’s. The woman laid strewn over a rocky outcropping, her hair covering her face, while the girl laid in the shadows of the cave, blood surrounding her.

X walked over to the woman first. He couldn’t see any immediate wounds on her as he approached, but when he brushed her hair back he could see dark bruising around her neck. He felt along it with his fingers and determined that she must have been thrown against the outcropping, her neck snapping on impact and killing her instantly. He gazed at her face and saw that her eyes were frozen in immediate shock, her mouth open in a scream. X reached forward to close her eyes, before stopping as he saw them flicker.

“What the…” he muttered, examining her eyes closely. They sparked and sputtered with a dim light, even though their owner was dead. X’s curiosity rose and he considered the woman with interest, until her eyes flickered from green to red. The red of her eyes reminded him of that maverick, and why he was here. X shook his head to clear his mind of anything aside from why he had come here, and closed the woman’s eyelids with his fingers before standing up and walking toward the girl.

The girl (Lily, he guessed) lied farther back in the cave, and as X neared her he could see that she had been bisected at the waist, her intestines spilling across the cave floor. He recoiled as the smell of rotten and burnt flesh hit his nostrils. He’d never seen something so….

X closed his eyes and breathed, steeling himself. When he opened them again, he knelt to the ground and saw that Lily’s eyes were half lidded, her mouth slightly open. He could tell that she had been crying before she was killed. He reached out hesitantly and checked her for injuries. He found that her only injuries were a crack in her ankle that never healed properly and the burns around the halves of her body where Sigma’s saber must have cut through her. There was no other wound. Sigma had lied.

Tears fell from X’s eyes as he thought about how these two must have fought to protect that maverick, and of how they were killed for it. Now only one questioned remained in his mind: why did they try to protect him?

As his eyes scanned the cave, he found his answer in the bags of food that had been spilled onto the ground in the fight, a pile of snow that was in the vague shape of a snow man, and something else that was painted on the wall. As he got closer to it, he saw that it was a picture of Lily, that woman, and the maverick, done in berry juice and paint. A dirty brush laid on the floor below it.

“……damnit”

X turned and dashed out of the cave, towards the village nearby. Once there, he asked the inhabitants to collect the two’s bodies and return them to their families, before teleporting back to HQ.

 

X walked into Cain's office, and Cain could tell that X had been crying by the dried tear tracks on his cheeks. At this moment, however, his face was determined, a calm fury hidden beneath its surface.

"Dr. Cain" he began, and Cain felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Where is Sigma?"

* * *

 

While X had been exploring the cave to verify if what Sigma said was true or not, Sigma had been subjecting the maverick to "experiments.” He tested different "not-yet legal" drugs on him to see what effects they would have on a reploids systems, and found that most of them caused great pain. Some even caused convulsions and seizures. Yet no matter how many drugs he filled this maverick with, the maverick continued to draw breath.

"Fascinating," he said, as he looked down from an observation area above the testing grounds. Below, the maverick was writhing on the ground in agony, clawing at his head and sides while screaming at some non-existent foe. “That hallucinogen has killed all the other subjects, has it not?"

"Yes, Commander" a small, squirrelish scientist replied. Sigma looked back to the convulsing maverick.

"..... I think it's about time we find out what about his design makes him so durable "

* * *

 

X stormed down the halls of the science wing in MHHQ. Everyone in his path scurried out of his way, all of them frightened by the stone cold look on his face. They could all tell by the way he held himself that something was about to happen. The way X carried himself, they wouldn't have been surprised if Hell broke loose and then immediately froze over under his gaze. As he approached the back of the science wing, he began to faintly hear screaming. He froze at the sound, and then began to sprint down the halls, fury and apprehension mixing together on his face. He came to the room where he knew he would find Sigma, and he could clearly hear pained and ear-splitting screams coming from it. Two hunters stood in front of the door. As X approached, they blocked his way.

"No one's allowed inside without clearance" one of them said.

X, with a dangerous tone to his voice, replied "I have clearance to every room in HQ, including this one. You will let me in."

"Sorry, X" the other guard said over the screaming, "but only people with direct clearance from the Commander can enter this room at the moment."

X angrily shot back with "My clearance is all encompassing. I'm allowed into any room on base _without condition._ "

"Not this time" the guard replied. The screams abruptly stopped.

X paled in fear, and then steeled himself. He lifted his arm up, converting it to a buster. The two guards started. He muttered an apology under his breath and quickly pushed them away from the door, shooting them both in the legs as they slid away so that they couldn't get back up. He then slammed the door open and rushed through the doorway. The sight that lay before him made his blood run ice cold.

The maverick laid on an operating table, his arms, legs, torso, and neck tightly bound to it so that he couldn't move. His long blonde hair spilled out over the side of the table, matted with blood. His eyes were wide, the pupils pin pricks in a sea that fizzled red and blue. He had white foam bubbling out of his gaping mouth. His body showed deep burns around his restraints, as if they were welded to the table while he was on it. There were various wires and tubing snaking around him that wound under the skin of his prone figure. They seemed to be pumping some kind of thick, purple liquid into his body. He was covered in his own blood, that same blood splattering the table and floor around him. He was also slit open from his throat to where his navel would be, his entrails being poked and examined by some scientists. X could see the mavericks malfunctioning cardial pump weakly attempt to filter and distribute blood, and his artificial lungs feeble attempts to draw breath. He also saw the tears that still dripped from the maverick's eyes, carving watery paths down his bloodied face.


	3. Savior

 

X screamed and dashed forward to try and stop them from hurting the maverick any further, but before he could get anywhere close to the table he was yanked backward by the rough hands of some guards that had been standing next to the doorway. They quickly pinned X's arms behind his back and held him still. X struggled against them, but couldn't break free of their grasp. Only then did he finally notice Sigma standing in the corner of the room, a grin plastered across his face. X's fury overtook him.

"SIGMA!!!!!!" he screamed, rage coursing through his veins as he struggled harder against his captors.

"I see you went to the cave, then?" Sigma calmly said.

"YOU LIED!!! THOSE HUMANS WERE INNOCENT AND YOU SLAUGHTERED THEM!!!!!!"

Sigma began to walk towards X. "They're hardly innocent if they were defending a maverick. One of them even attacked us." He now stood before X, looming over him. X glared up into Sigma's eyes.

"You're a monster, Sigma. You've spilled innocent blood and now you stand here taking pleasure in torturing this defenseless reploid" X seethed, glaring up at him.  
"Defenseless? Reploid? X, this beast, _this maverick_ , has caused nothing but pain and strife. He has brought death to all who have approached him. He _deserves_ what he gets."

X growled at Sigma. "You won't get away with this."  
Sigma merely laughed and motioned for X's captors to take him away. "Let X sit in the detention center for a few days to calm himself."

As they dragged X away, X caught a glance of the maverick's form again. He saw the maverick's eyes twitch and look at him. The maverick's eyes seemed to scream of rage and sorrow and unfathomable _pain_ , but a message got through to X in those eyes, plain as day.

 

_Help me._

 

Inside his mind, X swore that he would.

* * *

 

The two hunters marched X down the halls of HQ towards the detainment cells, one of them walking in front while the other continued to restrain X’s arms from behind. X struggled slightly, glaring daggers into the head of the hunter in front of him. They led him down a set of stairs and to the end of a long hall, stopping in front of a door at the end. The hunter in front unlocked the door and opened it, and the hunter restraining him roughly shoved him into the cell. X grunted as he hit the cold floor. “Stay in there until you cool your head, X” he heard one of the hunters say behind him. X turned, and as the two closed the door behind him he launched himself off the floor towards them. The door slammed shut right as he reached it, and he slammed into it. X heard the lock click and the sound of the hunter’s footsteps echoing in the halls as they walked away. He punched the door in frustration, before resting his forehead against it, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as hot tears dripped from his eyes.

“... damnit…”

X’s hand uncurled and trailed down the door as he steadied his breaths. Once he had calmed down a bit, he turned to look at the cell.

The cell was small and metal gray, the walls seamlessly connecting to each other and the floor. The only light came from a flickering bulb that hung from the ceiling. Aside from the bulb, there was nothing else in there. As X turned back to where the door was, he realized that the door fit so seamlessly into the wall that he had to squint to even see that it was there. He could tell that this cell was most likely made to slowly drive its inhabitant mad, possibly for interrogation purposes. He walked to the far end of the cell and turned to rest his back against the wall, leaning his weight onto it as he closed his eyes in thought. His mind wandered back to the cave as it tried to piece together what exactly must have happened there. In every scenario that came to mind, he could never find the maverick at fault, only the hunters. That couldn’t be right, because the hunters fought to protect the innocent and, sure, while that maverick may not have been innocent, those humans were, and he could tell that the maverick had tried to defend them, so why did the hunters, did _Sigma_ , kill those two humans? Why would he try to hide it? It didn’t make sense. Why would he-

An image of that maverick- No, that _reploid_ flashed through his brain, and X winced, folding in on himself in revulsion of the memory and sliding to the floor. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes again as he pulled his knees up to his chest and began to try and think of some way to help the poor reploid, a way to return him to his home (if he still had one) and make things… okay? No, he couldn’t make it okay. It would never be okay.

And what about those two humans? Or… one human? He still couldn’t tell if that woman was even human or something else entirely. The ways her eyes flashed unnerved him. It reminded him of the red reploid’s eyes when he laid on the-

X shook his head. It was best not to think about that right now. About how that reploid was being…. being…

“NO!” X screamed, clutching at his head as the tears flowed from his eyes once more. He muttered to himself “Thinking about that won’t help him… It won’t help anyone… I need to….” X looked down towards his knees.“Need to….” He sniffled, and resting his head against his legs began to silently sob.

When Dr. Cain walked into his cell over a day later, X was still huddled against the wall, his arms curled around his knees, his eyes staring at the floor.  
“X….”  
X stiffened, and a few tears dropped from his cheeks as he looked up at the doctor.  
Cain approached him and said “It must have been bad.” He stood in front of X, leaning on his cane as he waited for the boy to reply. X stared up at him for a few moments, his breaths hitching as he tried to stifle his sobbing.

“Dr. Cain….” X finally mumbled, his voice shaky with emotion. “It was…. was…..” X buried his face into his hands, sobbing out an “oh god…” into his palms.  
Cain looked down at the boy sorrowfully, waiting for him to calm down enough to continue. After about ten minutes X was still sobbing, and Cain gave a weary sigh and held out one of his hands to the boy, gently saying “You can tell me about it later. For now, let’s get you home.”  
X faintly nodded, but didn’t look up as he took the old man’s hand and shakily stood. Cain gazed at him with pity. Tears still dripped from the boy’s eyes, carving watery paths down his cheeks. Cain turned and slightly yanked on X’s hand as he walked towards the cell door, and X shuffled a bit behind him as they both headed out.

* * *

Their walk through HQ was spent in silence, the hunters that they passed giving them strange looks. Some of them looked at the two in pity, some in scorn, others with disinterest, but everyone they passed gave their eyes to the pair, if only for a few seconds, before turning away to continue on with their work. Cain didn’t really blame them for their interest. It wasn’t every day that one saw an old man lead a crying father of an entire species away from a detention cell and through the halls. It didn’t help that X was clinging to his hand as if he was a child.   
“Then again” Cain thought, looking back at X as they passed through the scanners that stood at the entrance of MHHQ, “he _is_ a child.” He sighed. “So many people seem to forget that.”

A green light indicated that they were clear to pass, and an automatic door opened in front of them. Cain’s car was waiting by the entrance of HQ, and Cain led X to the passenger seat and let go of his hand. He walked around to the other side of the car, and as he was opening the door he noticed X was looking back towards HQ.  
Cain sighed. “Come on, X. Let’s just go home.”  
X stared at the building a while longer, before turning almost defeatedly and getting in the car. Cain followed suit, and they were soon pulling away from HQ, X staring at it all the while, even once they couldn’t see it anymore. After a few minutes, he spoke.  
“We have to do something.”

“Yes, we do” Cain replied, “We have to get back to the labs, make dinner…”

“You know what I mean!”

Cain glanced to the side to see X looking at him firmly, a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

Cain sighed. “X, he’s a maverick. The worst maverick the hunters have seen so far.”

“Still, he-!”

“The _worst_ maverick in all of hunter history” Cain reiterated, cutting X off. “I know you’re about to say he didn’t kill those girls, but that doesn’t change the fact that he killed countless others. _He’s still a maverick, X_.”  
Cain could see X turn from him out of the corner of his eye. X was silent, his fists clenched and slightly trembling. Cain could tell X was in thought, trying to come up with a way to convince him. As Cain pulled up to the lab, X finally spoke, his voice a tense whisper.

“You need to see it to understand. You need to see what I’ve seen, before you condemn him.” X turned to Cain, his eyes set. Cain stopped the car, and X must have seen the relent in his eyes because he quickly pushed open the passenger side door and hopped out, sprinting towards the lab.

* * *

 

 

Cain brought x to his lab and towards the big computer. X connected the monitor to him via a few wires and played the carnage for Cain.  Cain lost his composer at the sight of the girl who got cut in half. "Sigma, what have you done?" he whispered.

 

X sighed and looked away from the monitor. "This was pointless death."

 

Cain shook his head. "This was extremely pointless. Our friend has every right to want him dead"

 

X shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Sigma... left them there. The bodies. Just left them there to rot. X's disgust rose with the contents of his stomach. He felt so bad for None, the reploid lost everything. From his perspective, a bunch of stranger killed his family, kidnapped him, and began to completely torture him. He needs someone and X will be there for as long as he needs.

 

If he can even get to him, that is. If he's even still.....X's stomach lurched as memories of that sight can back to the surface of his mind. He put his hands over his eyes, the other gripping his stomach as he began to slowly curl in on himself. He had only just now considered that his help might come too late for the poor reploid.That the "maverick" might be beyond saving by the time salvation came. That he might be mentally broken, or....

 

X almost collapsed to his knees, but through sheer force of will he stood standing and shook such doubts from his head.

 

"No" he thought to himself "I WILL save him." He looked back to the monitor, which still displayed the girl's corpses. "They may be dead.... But he isn't. I can still save him."

 

He pulled out the wires. The flame in his green eyes burned fast as he gritted his teeth. Cain watched as X looked over files and anything that would get Sigma pulled from service. X was moving faster and eventually found something. The list of who was there when Sigma, acquired, The 'maverick'.

 

"Would they talk, though?" X pondered.

 

After a moment of thought he had an idea. "Cain! Call Garna in for maintenance"

 

Garna was incredibly strong and powerful. X guessed he was strong enough to snap  a neck by launching a fairly muscular but small person into a wall. X bit back that theory, to keep him level headed. Once the copy and download of Garna's memories was complete, Cain let him on his way. X was tempted to steal a couple screws or misplace a part, but his professionalism won out.

 

X watched through the few minutes that were in that cave and flinched when he saw that one girl hit the wall, the crack loud enough to be heard through the video. X looked away when Sigma sliced the other girl. He stopped the video and looked at the ceiling.

  
"I got what I wanted..." X had rushed through the MHHQ to end Sigmas vicious crimes. Taking it to the high council. They had watched the entire video in silence. The murders, the clip of the state of the maverick, and listened to the experiments that had taken place. The council froze in horror as they digested the images. After a hour of talking and discussing to themselves, they talked to X, giving him custody of the maverick. They tried to ask his name, but he never responded, so they started to refer to him as "Z" due to the prominent Z shaped scar he had on his shoulder. They gave Z a nice room at the labs. The walls were painted a relaxing green, and he had a bed with clean linen and fluffy pillows. They would bring him meals and try to comfort him.They even left his door unlocked and gave him free roam of the lab/house, But he didn't eat, and he never moved from the curled position he had taken on the bed. X, not knowing what to do to help, went back to the cave to see if he could find something familiar to Z to comfort him with.


	4. Familial Comfort

After an hour of searching, all he had found were rotten corpses near the back of the cave, and a blanket that had been fairly close to the entrance. It was hidden from the carnage, and surprisingly soft.

 

X had just got back to the lab from the cave, Z still has not moved an inch, he was there curled up ever so silent. The azure reploid had gone into the room to make sure he was ok. Z perked up suddenly noticing X, the cardinal reploid had been sleeping. X kneeled down at his level and red had caught a whiff of what looked like Lily's blanket. His eyes widened and he sat up for the first time in days. He looked at the blanket wanting to touch it but scared that X would take it away from him.

 

X reassured "It's ok, I'm not going to take it away from you." The blue android gave him the blanket and Z took it all in. He smelled the blanket and hugged it in his arms. 

 

"L-Lily's" He purred, nuzzling it. "Where...?"He looked at X with sad eyes.

 

X smiled at him. "It was behind some rocks." X looked at Z who looked much happier, but still sad. His eyes seemed to settle on blue, X had no idea what that meant. Z wrapped himself in the the blanket and was cuddling with the blanket. Z didn’t leave the room, but he changed positions, sleeping with the blanket like it was a stuffed animal. Cain and X watched him sleeping with Z having a strained expression on his face. He seemed to be in pain again and having a nightmare. X decided to enter the room, being very careful to not wake Z up. He gently sat himself down on the edge of the bed and slowly reached his hand forward. Soon, he was gently running his hands through Z's hair and petting him, hoping to help comfort him. He relaxed, but didn't purr like he did when he first got the blanket, but he didn't have that same kind of pained expression and relaxed. The next day Z was finally standing. He looked exhausted, but he was standing. he limped towards the door, walking out of the room and almost into X. It was the first time he could really see their height difference.

 

Z looked ahead, his eyes glassy. X looked up at him and tried to get him to speak again, but he got nothing. Finally Zero looked at X and whispered, "I want to go back."

 

X was surprised at the red ones comment. Then the azure reploid replied, "Z, you're in no condition to be out there, we need to get you better ok?" Z nodding slowly back. X knew he needed to get to feeling better so he wanted to run a few examinations to see if he's doing better.

 

"What...about....the..em....They....shouldn't...be....left....in...the...Cold...." Z dragged out slowly.

  
  


X looked at Z quizzically, trying to parse what he meant by that. "Them?" He asked. "..... You mean Lily and Veronica?"   
  


"....ver...on..ica?" Z asked, puzzled.   
  


"That woman. You didn't know her name?" X answered. Z slightly shook his head in reply."Oh." X replied, and then softly asked "Why would they be in the cold, though?"   
  


Z said "the..ca..ve...is...cold"   
  


X finally got it, and with a soft but sad smile replied "They're not in the cave anymore. I made sure that they were both given proper funerals."   
  


"Fu...nerals?" Z asked.   
  


"Yeah," X replied, "I returned Lily to her family, and they had a funeral for her and buried her near their family's farm. Veronica didn't have any family, but we found a will in her house that told us she wanted to be cremated when she died and scattered to the winds. So we did that. There wasn't much ceremony to it, but it seemed she wanted it that way."   
  


Z stood there silently, taking in the information. X looked up at his face, and saw sorrow there, but also a hint of contentment.    
  


Then Z opened his mouth, and asked a question X wasn't prepared to answer.   
"What...is...family?"


	5. Cold

 

The word sounded almost foreign when Z said it, but X still understood the question, and his mind blanked on trying to come up with a good answer.  
Finally, he settled for the truth.  


"I'm.... not certain..." Z stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "I never met my family. They built me and then... sealed me away. The closest I probably have to family is Dr. Cain. He's the one that found me and introduced me to the world." X's eyes began to most over, and Z watched in shock as tears began to trickle down X's cheeks. "It's stupid, really." X lightly chuckled, pain barely hidden in his voice. "I miss them, and yet I never even met them."  X began to lightly laugh and sob, shoulders shaking. Z stood frozen to the spot, watching. X brushed at the tears on his cheeks and said "Sorry, that's probably not the answer you were looking fo-"

 

X suddenly found himself wrapped in Z's arms.

 

Z was petting his back and making small purring noises. It was the only way he knew how to comfort people. X started at the touch, but soon found himself genuinely laughing, a happy smile crossing his face. He wrapped his arms around Z, and the two stood there, leaning on each other, for what seemed like an eternity.  


X softly whispered "thank you..." before pushing Z gently away and saying "I feel better now." X started walking again, and then turned and said, "So, how about that tour?"  


Z nodded his head, and followed. Z gave him a small smile. His first in days. X grinned widely in return

 

Z couldn't help but compare that smile to the sun. X led Z around the labs, answering all questions, until Z asked him a hard one.

 

"Why help me?"

 

X gave him a perplexed look, and responded with "Because you needed help."

 

Z countered with, "But you work for...." He couldn't think of his name "and he....cuts" he finished, wincing.

 

"You mean Sigma?" X asked, anger bubbling up at the name. He calmed himself with a sigh and said "I actually don't. I'm not technically a hunter, but because of my work with Dr. Cain, I'm around MHHQ quite a fair bit. A lot of people mistake me for a hunter because of it." He then sighed again, adding "I might as well be one, though, for the way I'm treated around HQ."

 

Z looked forward. "Thank you...for last night, being there for me"

 

X simply smiled and replied "No problem."

 

"Could you stay with me tonight?" Z asked like a small child

  


X wasn't expecting that, but calmly replied "Sure, I'll stay with you."

 

Z smiled and nodded. The way back to his room was quiet. Until Z whispered "I miss Lily."

 

X looked at him, and saw tears begin to well up in his eyes. He gently hugged Z and said "If you want, I can take you to see her tomorrow."  


Tears started to trickle down Z's face as he replied "she’s... dead..."  


"Yes" X responded sadly "She is. But I can take you to where she's buried. We can bring her flowers." X paused, and then added ".......you could meet her family." Z looked to him, and slowly nodded. X softly smiled, and said "Now, we should get to sleep."

 

They walked to Z's room, X holding Z's hand as Z slightly trailed behind him.  
When they entered Z's room, Z noticed that there was a mattress on the floor with some pillows and a blanket on top of it.  


"I asked Dr. Cain to bring the mattress in so that I didn't have to just sleep on the floor." X said as he walked toward the mattress. Suddenly, Z tugged on X's hand. X looked back and saw that Z was looking at the floor. "...what is it?" X asked.Z raised his other arm and pointed at his own bed. He then tugged on X's hand again. "You want me to.... sleep with you?" X asked. Z nodded, then muttered something  


"Don't.... want to... be.... alone...."

 

X nodded. "Would that help you sleep?" Z nodded. His eyes were glazed over, his blond hair cover him. He gave him what X could only describe as puppy dog eyes. X relented and let Z pull him over to the bed. Z still had that blanket in his arms, but he had his head on X's chest, listening to his heartbeat. X was still, but not too much so. Z would cry in his sleep, but he wasn't tense, and when he felt like X was too far away, he would pull X back. Z had slept lightly that night. The blue reploid was light headed from the amount of sleep he's gotten. Z was up that morning sitting in his room most of the remainder.

  
X tossed him a coat. "I promised we would go"


	6. Renewed

The grave was on a hill overlooking the farm. Z and X looked at it and stood in silence. The wind blew through their hair as Z put lilies on the grave. His blue eyes fogged with moisture as he cried. Snow fell around them as they walked back to meet the family. Z was saddened at the sight at the moment but nervous about meeting the family.

X noticed he was thinking about something "Hey, are you ok?" The red reploid heard X and nodded keeping it all in. The family's home was not far from where they were. They started to head there. The wind blew snow at and around him. X walked easily through the winter weather. The wind's humming brought a soothing feeling through him. He smiled despite the cold and grief. Z was barely affected by the harsh weather. His thoughts were running about Lily and what her family would think about him. While X and Z were walking through the snow they clearly saw the village in sight. It was quiet, but someone had a very interesting idea. Two bright green feminine eye were painted on a building. Z shivered at the glare. It seemed to be a painting in memoriam to the woman of the village. Z began to calm down as he indefinitely remembered. Lily's family was warm to Z. The two brothers of Lily stared at Z and X. The two brothers never meet beings like this before. They were curious about them, one of them came up to Zero and touched his armor plate with the 'Z' insignia. He stiffened, but let him touch it. He was a child and it wasn't like he could hurt Z. The child was intrigued and fascinated by Z. X was watching Z to make sure he didn't snap, he was now calm around the child and felt safe. The other brother looked at the child touching Z's head crystal lightly. The older brother pulled X away from Z. Z looked up at X leaving but focused on the child, letting him play with his hair.

"He's awfully calm." The older brother said.

"Yes he is unusually" X nodded. "He is never like this but maybe he seems to like him because he means no harm." Z started to purr to the young one, he began to laugh at the tickling sensation.

"Did he...Kill Lily?" The younger brother asked.

X startled at the question, turned and kneeled down to his level speaking softly, "No, Z did not kill her. A group of people did, Z tried to protect her..."

"Did they kill the lady with the green eyes too?" He asked, blue eyes looking up.

The android spoke in a deadbeat tone, "Yes unfortunately." The older brother noticed the scars on Z's body especially the more prominent one from his navel to his throat.

"Will he be ok?" The older brother asked.

"He will, he's recovering at a slow pace mentally and physically." X speaking in a cheery but saddened tone.The child hugged Z. Z hugged back careful of his immense strength.

"Can he speak?"

  
X nodded, but hesitated. "It takes a while, but yeah he does." As the two talked, Z began to purr and nuzzle the younger's cheek with his own. The child laughed, and began trying to imitate Z's purr while nuzzling back. The older brother noticed the scars and burns on Z's back.

"......what happened to him?" the older asked.

X hesitated, but when the child looked up to him, he sighed and replied "He was hurt, by people who wrongly feared him. Then he had taken from him those that he loved, and was was abused by those who wanted to use him."

The older, Jonathan, then asked "Is that why he has so many scars?"

"Yes" X replied sadly. "Yes it is"

Jonathan stared into X's eyes and asked "Why didn't you save him sooner? Before they hurt him? Why did you let him suffer?" X was taken aback by the question, but as the child kept staring at him, X felt a great sorrow well up inside himself.  
"Because...  
Because... I couldn't." X said, turning from Jonathan.

"Why not?" Jonathan pressed. "Isn't he your friend?" X looked up at Z, who was now lying on his back and letting the younger brother, Tim, rub his stomach. He saw Tim run his hand curiously along the scars that covered Z's body. Z simply laid there, slightly trembling, but with a small, weary smile on his face.

"Yeah," X replied, eyes growing misty, "he is."

"Then why didn't you help him sooner?" Jonathan pressed.

X said nothing, and soon Jonathan dropped the question altogether. Jonathan walked over to Z, who was lying on the ground, Tim sprawled out on top of him, and asked him a question instead.

"What's your name?"

X watched curiously as Z stared at the child. Finally, Z spoke.

"None"

Jonathan pressed on. "You're name... is None?"

Z looked away.

"......Or is it that you don't have one?"

X started a bit at that question. He had never even considered that Z didn't have a name, Z said nothing, but he slightly nodded.

"So you don't have one...." Johnathan then put his hand up to his chin and pondered something before finally asking "Do you want me to give you one?" Z looked to him, neither confirming nor denying, but both Jonathan and X could see the excited glimmer in his eyes. Jonathan looked Z over, and after a few seconds declared "Zero!", as if it was some kind of revelation to him. X and Z both looked at the kid in differing stages of bafflement. "You see, it's similar to None, but isn't none. None denotes nothingness. None is an end. But Zero isn't. Zero denotes nothingness, yes, but not as an end. Zero is a beginning." The kid then ran past X and around a corner. A moment passed before he ran back into the room carrying a tarot deck. "Look!" he cried, holding up a card so that X and Z could see it. It was the 0th card, the fool.

  
"So Z is... a fool?" X asked, completely baffled.

  
"Not really." Jonathan replied. "I heard it told once that the tarot cards can represent a journey. A hero's journey, even! And that the fool card is the hero at the start of his journey. By the end," he held up the 21st card, the world "the hero has gained many things. Knowledge, and friends, and love. That's why his name should be Zero! So that he can start that journey. A new start!" Jonathan was enthusiastically waving his arms by this point, a huge smile on his face.  
X looked at the kid, slightly amused and starting to warm to the idea. He then turned to Z, who tore his eyes off of the child to look at him.

"Well," X asked, "what do you think?"

Z looked to him, and then looked to the smiling child in front of him. "Ze..ro My name... is Zero..." And Zero smiled.

Zero grinned and ran out the house, winter not on his mind. X jogged to keep up with him after thanking the family and promising to visit again. They ran by the painting of the eyes. Zero kept running, towards the cave he was found in, towards his past. 

Zero kept running, towards the cave he was found in, towards his past. Zero laughed loudly and joyously as he sprinted on. Zero was faster than X was, so X trailed a fair ways behind him, a huge and relieved smile on his own face. Zero's joy was contagious, and he soon found himself laughing as well. A snow storm began to blow in that slightly obscured Zero from X's sight, but that didn't bother X, because he could still hear his friends laughter and knew where his friend was sprinting to. Zero ran on, his entire body feeling light as air and one with the wind whipping around him. He didn't feel the biting cold through the warm, happy feeling that spread all throughout his body.    
  


"Zero...." he thought to himself, laughing with glee. "A new beginning....That woman... Veronica... She said that people weren't as kind or forgiving as her, but she was wrong . There are people like her.... like Lily.... they exist!"

  
"They exist..." he thought happily."And now, so do I. It's time I said goodbye to my past, and start again." For what felt like the first time in his life, Zero felt truly at peace. He ran up to the cave, still smiling and laughing. Then stopped cold. “YOU... " X heard his friend's laughter cut short, and a sense of foreboding and fear drowned the happiness he had felt. X sprinted the rest of the way to the cave.


	7. Family bonds

 

Zero was staring at sigma, fear creeping into him.

 

"Ah," Sigma said, and the sneered "if it isn't the freak. "   
  


"Why are you here...." Zero growled, readying himself for an attack. The cave was still covered in blood, brownish red covering the floor.

 

"I could ask you the same thing." Sigma replied. "Is the monster planning on attacking more innocent people?"   
  


"I'm not a monster" Zero snarled. A shout rang out behind Zero that caught both of their attentions.   
  


"Zero!" X yelled, running up to the cave's entrance. "Is something.... wrong...." X quickly caught sight of Sigma, and his fear changed to anger.   
  


"Oh, so the beast has a name, huh?" Sigma laughed. "Zero... how fitting ."   
  


"Sigma" X said, angling himself between the two of them. "Why are you here?"

 

Sigma glared at the two of them, and then said "After you took my research experiment , I decided that there was another thread that I could follow. Someone else who piqued my interest." Sigma slowly walked up to the two of them. Zero growled at him as he approached, but X held his arm out in front of Zero in a manner that was both protecting and cautioning. Sigma stood in front of X, slightly too close for comfort. The two stared each other down, and then Sigma lowered his head so that his entire mass loomed threateningly over X and asked "That woman. Where is she? "

 

Zero growled even louder, crouching slightly, his body tense with fear and hostile intent. X, however, was cold and collected when he replied "She's dead, Sigma." Sigma roughly grab X by the front of his jacket, a move that almost made Zero pounce if not for X motioning him to not attack.   
  


"I know that. " Sigma snarled at X, their faces now only inches apart. " Where is her body? "

 

X didn't even blink an eye at Sigma's hostile display. "She's gone, Sigma. Cremated, her ashes scattered to the winds."Sigma glared daggers into X's eyes, his breath hot against the other's face, before bellowing out an annoyed and angered grunt and hurling X into Zero. Zero caught X with ease, and helped him to his feet. They both watched, X in defiant anger and Zero in hostile fury, as Sigma angrily stomped towards the exit. Sigma didn't leave immediately, however. Instead, he stopped in the cave's entrance and looked back at the angry pair.

 

"Zero..." He said, and then cruelly laughed. "To bring everything to nothing. A fitting name for someone who will bring nothing but death and destruction to all around him."   
  


Zero's eyes widened in rage, and with a roar he leapt forward, only to be held back by X.   
  


"Don't!" X shouted into Zero's ear as Zero struggled fiercely against him. "If you attack him, he can label you maverick again and take you!" Zero gasped and ceased his struggling, but X still held onto him.

 

Zero glared up into Sigma's eyes, and breathing heavily hissed out " you... "   
Sigma grinned cruelly. "You are nothing but a beast, a plague to all you hold dear. Never forget that..." he said as he turned to leave, " ... Zero. " Laughing loudly, Sigma walked away, leaving the two alone in the bloodied cave. Zero angrily panted, before he slid to the floor, still in X's grasp, and began to sob. X softened his grip around Zero, and nuzzled his head into the crook of Zero's neck.

 

Zero angrily panted, before he slid to the floor, still in X's grasp, and began to sob.

X softened his grip around Zero, and nuzzled his head into the crook of Zero's neck.

 

"He's wrong" X whispered into his friend's ear. "He's completely wrong. You are not a beast." Zero simply trembled, his breath hitching as his tears fell and froze on the ground. “You are not a monster, either; nor are you a freak.” X continued, shifting around to better embrace his friend. “You are kind, and gentle, and strong. Veronica, Lily, those children…. they all saw that. They all saw you. The REAL you.”

 

Zero looked at him, tears still falling from his eyes. “X….”

 

“I see it too.” X gently said, now face to face with Zero. “I see you. You are not a monster. You are Zero, and you are my friend.” Zero sniffled, and then collapsed against his friend. Zero sobbed into X's chest, shaking in his arms. X pet his back reassuringly. Zero clung to him, the cold air seeming to pierce into his soul despite his friend’s warm embrace. Zero didn’t believe what Sigma said about him. Not fully, anyway. Yet at the same time, he also didn’t fully believe in X’s words as well. As Zero continued to cry in his friend’s arms, he found that didn’t know what he truly believed.

 

It was already dark out when X and Zero returned to Cain labs. Both of them felt exhausted and maybe a little numb after the day's events.   
  


"Boys!" Cain exclaimed, a huge smile on his face as he greeted them. "X, I thought you said you'd be home before it got dark. Now your dinners are cold!"   
  


X looked up, kinda startled. "Oh! Dr. Cain..." X sheepishly rub the back of his neck. "Sorry, there was a little.. ah... incident."   
  


Cain looked at X quizzically, a hint of concern in his eyes. "Incident? What happened?"   
  


Zero stared at the floor while X answered "Nothing you need to worry about! Trust me, it's no...." X stopped himself and looked at Zero, who seemed to have twitched a bit at the word nothing, and whose expression had grown more sorrowful and dark at its mention. "it's... not your concern." X finished lamely, hoping Dr. Cain wouldn't pry any further.   
  


Cain stared at the two suspiciously, and then shrugged and replied "Suit yourself. Now come on, I didn't make all this food just to have it go to waste!"

 

Zero pricked his head up at the mention of food.

 

X sighed in relief, and asked "What did you make?"

 

"Well," Cain said as the three walked towards the kitchen, "I don't actually know what Z here likes, so..."   
  


"..ro.." Zero mumbled, interrupting Cain.   
"What?" Cain asked.   
  


"My name... is Zero." Zero replied, a hint of red spreading to his face. X smiled.   
  


"Oh! Well pardon me then." Cain cleared his throat, then continued "Well, I don't actually know what Zero here likes, so I decided to just make a little bit of everything!"   
They walked into the kitchen, and X and Zero gawked at the array of food.    
  


"Ta-Dah!" Cain exclaimed, bowing slightly. "What do you think?"

Zero took in the sights. He had never seen such variety before! And all of it smelled so good...   
  


"Doctor..." X exhaled in awe "This looks incredible!" He gasped, and then added "You even made blueberry pie!"   
  


"Of course!" Cain replied, walking over to the array. "It is your favorite, after all."   
  


As Zero laid his eyes on the feast, X suddenly asked "Why, though? Why such a big meal tonight? Are we celebrating something?"

 

Cain looked to X amused, before replying "Well, of course!" Turning to Zero, he continued "This is the first time Zero's gone outside since he came here. I thought such a huge step in his recovery should be celebrated!" Zero turned to the old man, completely at a lost. He had heard what the old man said, yes, but....   
  


Zero pointed to himself, and Cain replied "Yes, I made such a huge feast for you! You deserve one, for how far you've come since we've first met." Zero was at a complete loss for words. X was practically beaming at what Dr. Cain had said.

"Well..." X said, "aren't you going to thank Dr. Cain?"   
Zero looked at the old man, and instead of thanks, a question bubbled out.   
  


"Why?"

 

"Hm?" Cain replied.   
  


"Why would you..." Zero gestured towards the food "do this... for me? Why me?"   
  


"I've already said, it's to celebrate how far you've come in your recovery!" Cain said, a warm grin on his face.   
  


"Yes, but...." Zero looked conflicted as he said "I... don't deserve this."   
  


"Of course you do!" X exclaimed, worry and shock written on his face.   
  


Zero looked at him and replied "No! No, I.... I don't....."   
  


X sadly looked at his friend. "Zero...."   
  


Cain watched the entire display, pondering something. Finally he clapped his hands together, startling X and Zero. They both looked to him as he said "Fine, then. If you don't feel that you deserve a feast in reward for your progress, then you won't have one."   
  


"Dr. Cain!" X exclaimed, while Zero merely smiled sadly at the ground.   
  


"Instead..." Cain continued, before X could chew him out "I shall have a feast! In celebration of having a new member of our little family...." Cain walked over to Zero and threw his arm around the boy's shoulder. "You."Zero looked at him shocked. X's concern melted as a smile crawled its way upon his face.

 

"Now" Cain said, herding Zero towards the table of food "would you like to share in this feast with me." He looked over his shoulder and shouted "X! That means you too!" X nodded and hurriedly joined them. Zero looked to X, and then to the old man. A soft smile spread across his face.   
  


"Sure" Zero replied, happy tears at the corner of his eyes. "I would like that."


End file.
